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In 2002 the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Uniform Crime Report (UCR) estimated that one Crime Index offense was committed every 2.7 seconds in the United States. Property crimes were committed more frequently (one every 3.0 seconds) than violent crimes (one every 22.1 seconds), down from one every 19 seconds in 1996. The Crime Clock does not imply these crimes were committed with regularity; instead it represents the relative frequency of occurrence. Note this frequency of occurrence does not take into account population increases, as does the per capita crime rate.

The FBI, in its annual Crime in the United States report, publishes data for serious crimes in the Crime Index. The Index includes murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.

Although the number of crimes in the United States in 2002 remained high, at over 11.8 million, the total of Crime Index offenses remained relatively unchanged from 2001, rising only by 0.1 percent. Violent crimes comprised 12.0 percent of all Crime Index offenses in 2002, while property crimes accounted for 88.0 percent. According to five-year trend data, as shown in Figure 2.1, the Crime Index in 2002 was 4.9 percent lower than in 1998. The Crime Index rate, which equals the number of Crime Index offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, actually registered a 10.9 percent drop from the 1998 rate. (See Figure 2.1.)

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The FBI defines murder and non-negligent manslaughter as "the willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another." The figures for murder do not include suicides, accidents, or justifiable homicides either by citizens or law enforcement officers. In 2002 a murder was committed every 32.4 minutes according to the UCR's Crime Clock. The murder rate was 5.6 murders for…

The FBI defines forcible rape as "the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will. Assaults or attempts to commit rape by force or threat of force are included; however, statutory rape (without force) [inter-course with a consenting minor]…and other sex offenses are excluded." Rape is a crime of violence in which the victim may suffer serious physical injury and…

The FBI defines robbery as "the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear." Robbery is a particularly threatening crime; its thousands of victims each year suffer psychological and physical trauma, and even non-victims experience anxiety from the…

The FBI defines aggravated assault as "an unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault is usually accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm." In 2002 894,348 offenses of aggravated assault were reported to law enforcement agencies nationwide. The aggr…

The FBI defines burglary as "the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft. The use of force to gain entry is not required to classify an offense as burglary." An estimated 2.15 million burglaries were reported in 2002, up 1.7 percent from 2001. By comparison, 2002 burglaries declined by 7.8 percent compared to the 1998 figures, and by 24.1 percent compared to the 199…

The FBI defines larceny-theft as "the unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession … of another" in which no use of force or fraud occurs. This crime category includes offenses such as shoplifting, pocket-picking, purse-snatching, thefts from motor vehicles, bicycle thefts, and so on. It does not include embezzlement, "con" g…

The FBI defines motor vehicle theft as "the theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle." In 2002 just over 1.2 million cases of auto theft were reported in the United States. The number of motor vehicle thefts increased from the previous year, up by 1.4 percent from 2001. The rate of motor vehicle thefts was 432.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, up by 0.4 percent from 2001. The 2002 rate s…

The FBI defines arson as "any willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, personal property of another, etc." Arson statistics have only been collected since 1979. Not included in the arson statistics are fires of suspicious or unknown origins. In 2002 66,308 arson offenses were repo…

There are enough guns in private hands to provide every adult in America with one. —Bulletin Reports, Federal Bureau of Investigation, September 2, 1997 Based on a survey funded by a National Institute of Justice (NIJ) grant, the Police Foundation estimated that
FIGURE 2.4 Types of larceny-theft, 2002 Percent distribution*
private citizens owned 192 million firearms in the United Sta…

In 1999 the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) surveyed human resource professionals concerning violence in the workplace. Over half (57 percent) of those responding reported at least one violent incident between 1996 and 1999, an increase from the 48 percent of respondents who reported at least one violent incident in the workplace between 1994 and 1996. Although violent attacks with fi…

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